Sunday, September 1, 2013

My Generation OUR TRIBUTE CARS

For Corvette owners in the northern states the anxiety meter
is beginning the annual upward move in anticipation of the ending of summer,
the onset of fall and the inevitable impending winter when our cars get bundled
up and put away in storage.

The angst in
many ways reminds me of my childhood when the ten week summer vacation was
drawing to an end, knowing that in a few short weeks I’d be once again held
captive in a schoolroom for another nine months, similar to the way a Corvette
must feel during the long winter hibernation.Now, as then, I regret the ending of summer though for different
reasons. At this point in my life, though fall may be the best season of all
for road trips and rallys, the inevitable onset of the cold barren winter hits
a little too close to home which usually prompts nostalgic thoughts and
memories of earlier times, good times filled with countless hours of working
on, talking about, and spending time behind the wheel of those special cars
that have consumed so many hours throughout my life.

For many of us those times comprised several different cars
along the way, some loved and others only tolerated, but cars suited for our specific
needs at a particular stage of our life. Few of us had the means to keep the car which first
ignited a fire deep inside and began for many of us a lifetime of special
appreciation and respect for the automobile.In many cases that car was one of the first cars we owned.Cars that many of us modified and as such
became extensions or statements about ourselves, cars that often subliminally
reflected our personalities and interests.As such I refer to these as “tribute cars” because in reality they were
in fact tributes to ourselves, modified for performance, for style, or
both.Some personalizations were
extensive, involving extensive customizing andmodification of the engine, body or both while other changes were
simple, hardly noticeable, sometimes adding no more than a pinstripe or
upgraded radio and “8 Track” player. And
as much as we might have wanted to keep those special cars forever, sadly, life
changes often required us to let them go.The two most significant changes
usually involved reporting for military service or getting married and starting
a family.In the former our tribute cars
were sold because we could not afford to keep them or maintain them while away
from home.In the latter because we had
to get a car that could accommodate a family.In either case letting go of that car was often a heartbreaking
experience but one that could not be avoided.

For those of you too young to remember, unless you were
wealthy in the fifties and sixties, most families owned only one car and as
such it had to be a multi-purpose utilitarian tool. Few families could indulge themselves with
both a family car and a personal car.That began to change with dual income families but it took time and was
not commonplace until the mid 1960’s.And even then the second car was usually a practical economy car.While we were single and unencumbered with
other responsibilities somehow we had or found the time, money and parts to turn
our cars into individual, personal expressions suited to us.And typically when our life circumstances and
responsibilities changed (re: got married or had children) it required us to
obtain a car more suited for the purpose.I can remember one of the reasons I had to part with my “tribute car”
was the need to get a more practical car that my wife could drive.My wife, standing only 5 feet tall and
weighing less than 100 pounds, physically had trouble depressing the heavy duty
clutch and driving the a high performance car with no power steering or brakes.I still have my wife so I don’t have to tell
you what happened to my car.

One of the benefits of being an enthusiast beginning in the
last quarter of the last century was the ability for many enthusiasts to own more
than one car.Even for a family just
starting out, usually “car guys” don’t have to give up their “tribute cars”
unless they want to and then a few years later regret.There is no question that the quest to reacquire
our dream car has virtually grown the hot rod, 50’s and 60’s collector car
market and continues to fuel the explosion of collector car auctions throughout
the country.

I could afford one of the original ‘63 Corvette Grand Sports
if I had a dime for every time I had either lamented or heard someone say, “I
wish I had held on to my (insert car name here) that I had when I was
younger.” Because so few of us have
actually been able to hold on to our “tribute cars,” I am always impressed to
hear a story about someone who was able to hang on to their “tribute car,”
especially if those cars were Corvettes, which are not necessarily suited to be
the only car for a family of more than two people. And recently I have had the good fortune to
meet one of those Corvette owners with a great story.

While in Flint, Michigan, at the Corvette Reunion, I met
Steve Stone and got to hear, first –hand, his incredible story.Stone was showing his Tuxedo black, 1963
Sting Ray convertible he had just driven from his home in Madison, Wisconsin,
to the Reunion, a show of almost 600 Corvettes which takes place every year in
conjunction with the Back to the Bricks Car Show.After the Reunion, Steve and his wife packed
up and headed to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where his Corvette was featured on the
center stage at the largest all-Corvette event in the country, Corvettes at Carlisle.And just what is so special about Stone’s
1963 Corvette convertible?It’s because he
is not only the original owner of the car he has owned for more than fifty
years, but the amazing fact Steve has put over 500,000 miles on the car he
ordered new in October of 1962. A story
perhaps more indicative of a Volvo than a Corvette.

To my knowledge Stone is not the anonymous majority stock
holder in a Fortune 500 company and yet he has been able to hold on to the 1963
Corvette he originally took possession of on February 27, 1963, at the ripe old
age of eighteen.Just after the
introduction of the exciting new second generation Corvette was unveiled, Steve
knew he had to own one of the revolutionary new cars; the only obstacle was
figuring out how to pay over $4,000 for it. So he sold his 1956 Chevrolet coupe and asked
his father to co-sign a loan for the purchase.His father agreed, so in October of 1962, Steve visited his local
dealership and ordered his Corvette in Tuxedo Black with the 327 cubic inch,
340 HP engine and four speed transmission.In addition he added a signal seeking radio, positraction and the
optional hard top for winter driving.The car had 4:11 gears, white wall tires, and no power steering or
brakes. After four agonizing months of waiting, the car of Steve’s dreams was
delivered to the dealership.

The first few years of ownership the car was his only means
of transportation and Stone put over 30K miles a year on the car, driving it
year round. During the early years the
hardtop option got a lot of use especially in the snowy winter, but until
recently the hardtop had not been on the car for over thirty years. Then in 1965 Steve was drafted.He was convinced he’d be sent to Viet Nam, so
he reluctantly put the Corvette up for sale, not wanting to leave his parents
stuck with the loan if anything happened to him.But the planets must have been in alignment
because the car never sold and Steve did not go to Viet Nam as he expected.

When he returned from the service, Steve began making some
modifications to his Corvette, changes that were more suited to his taste at
the time, he added side exhausts and disk brakes.And over the years he has also added dual MSD
ignition systems to insure he does not get stranded on one of his wilderness
treks.Though Steve has other cars now,
he still drives the Corvette extensively.He has driven the car to all of the lower forty eight states and the
nine Canadian provinces.He and his
wife, who has learned to pack light, travel extensively in the sports car,
sometimes towing a small trailer Steve made for the car.The trailer is particularly helpful when they
take their annual trip to the Boundary Waters and take along their twenty-two
foot canoe.

During the car’s lifetime, it has had the engine rebuilt or
replaced four times, the front end clip replaced a few times due to accidents,
the interior replaced twice and the frame restored once.As you would expect, Steve has a special
attachment to the car and plans on leaving the car to his fourth son who he
knows will continue to take care of and drive the car Steve has nutured for a
half century.During our conversation he
summed up his feelings, “I can’t see myself driving any other Corvette, not
even if I was given a new C7.”

Needless to say, it is amazing that Stone was able to
hold on to his Corvette despite the challenges and demands of family life.The car has offered him not only thousands of
hours of enjoyment behind the wheel but a lifetime of memories as well.If there was ever a testament to the fact
that Corvettes are made to be driven, Steve Stone and his car are it.So as the fall season approaches don’t let
it inspire only memories about times past.There is still time before your Corvette goes into hibernation to create
some new memories cruising the back roads immersed in vivid fall colors and
crisp autumn weather.There is still
time to get your motors running, head out on the highway, look for adventure
and create your own stories and memories this fall behind the wheel of your
Corvette.

Rick Tavel …is a free lance automotive journalist and an avid car enthusiast. Though he spent his professional career as a business executive, now retired, he devotes his time to writing, organizing Corvette events, and evaluating Corvettes for prospective owners for his company R/TCorvetteConsultants.He is currently working on a book about the significance and development of the 1999 and 2000 Corvette Hardtop, known as the Fixed Roof Coupe. He raced as an avocation when he was younger and held an SCCA Professional Racing license and raced in the Minneapolis Grand Prix. He was active in the PCA. He currently owns a Corvette C5 FRC and a Corvette C6 Grand Sport convertible. In addition he owns and shows a vintage Pontiac Trans Am "survivor" which he is going to sell to acquire a 2nd Generation Corvette. He graduated from the University of Kentucky’s School of Journalism. When he isn't writing, researching, painting or driving he is usually enjoying time with his grand daughter, Avery, in her wonderful world of discovery and make believe. He lives with his wife and his dog, "Jazz", a West Highland White Terrier, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and Gold Canyon, Arizona."

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